Office Policies

Our Mission

Our commitment is to provide our patients with the highest quality professional medical services and to constantly improve patient care, quality of medical staff and operational efficiency.

Telephone Calls

Most of the telephone calls to the office will be handled by the nursing staff. They can advise you on common problems and tell you whether it is necessary to bring the baby or child to the office. During office hours, the physicians try to give their undivided attention to the patients in the office. If you have a problem that the nurses cannot help you with, the physician may not be able to talk to you immediately, but the doctor will call you when he or she is finished with the patients in the office. In this way, the doctor can the give his or her undivided attention to you and the needs of your child.

Appointments

In order to provide the highest quality of pediatric care, our office works by appointments and the physicians and nurse practitioners always try to be on schedule. However, doctors are called upon frequently for emergency services that upset office hours. Also, sometimes a patient may require more than the allotted time, throwing subsequent appointments off schedule. Please be charitable and know that your child will be seen as close to the appointment time as possible.

For maximum benefit of all concerned, it is best if only the child who is being seen by the physician is in attendance in the exam room, with one or both parents. Our exam room facilities, although quite functional and pleasing as compared to many other medical offices, are still restrictive in the amount of space available for comfortable movement of the patient, family, physician or nurse practitioner and other necessary staff. Please ensure older sisters, brothers and extended family members (beyond parents) wait in the waiting room while your child is seen by the health care provider.

For younger brothers, sisters and extended family members, we ask that you provide alternative care for the time during which your child is to be seen by cur office, such as by a babysitter or child care center.

Finally, it is very important that the person bringing the child into our office for an exam is an authorized adult. If a parent cannot be in attendance at the appointment, the responsible adult (preferably a relative versus a babysitter or non-family member) must bring a signed letter of authorization from the parent that clearly states that the accompanying adult is permitted by that parent to escort the child to the health care visit. Please contact our office with any questions you have regarding this common medical policy.

Prescription Refill Policy

Please call our office and follow the automated instructions to talk to a staff member if you need a prescription refilled. Some prescriptions may also be filled by request on our Patient Portal. Some refills may require the patient to be seen before renewal.

For ADD, ADHD, Depression & Anxiety Patients

According to State regulations and Best Practice Management patients with the diagnosis named above are to be seen 4 times/year. These four appointments will consist of 1 physical/WCC and 3 med checks. If the patient is seen by our Clinical Nurse Specialist they will need 2 med checks with her, 1 with a DR or PNP, and one physical/WCC with a DR or PNP. If a medication change is made anytime, the patient will need to be seen within one month of the change.

Advance notice of 2 or more days is appreciated when ordering prescriptions. To prevent your child from going without medications, make sure you make it to the scheduled appointment, prescriptions will not be issued until the patient is seen. We will no longer dispense partial prescriptions.

Late Arrival Policy

One of the keys to reducing wait time is recognizing when a late patient must be rescheduled. We want to treat every family fairly, and no one should have to wait extra time because the patient before them was late. If you are more than 15 minutes late to your child’s appointment, you may be asked to reschedule. While we will do all that is possible to accommodate requests, the first-available appointment may or may not be on the day the appointment was missed. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to call us to cancel if you cannot show up at your scheduled time. A $25 no-show charge may be enforced; after 3 no-shows you may be asked to leave the practice.

Please call ahead if you are late or unable to make your appointment time. We will do all that we can to accommodate your child’s appointment and to minimize the need to reschedule your appointment.